After a ceremonial swearing in of the two newest board members, the Weatherford ISD Board of Trustees voted on the positions of president, vice president and secretary Thursday.

Paul Paschall will remain as president, Ashley Conlon, who was the acting secretary, will now serve as vice president and Jeff Geyer will be secretary.

Also at the meeting, Frances Adams was named the principal for Seguin Elementary. Adams has a Masters in Educational Administration from the University of Texas at Tyler. Her 20-year career in education includes teaching, serving as a literacy coach and as a bilingual coordinator. For the past two months, she has served as interim principal at Seguin.

Adams said she is “grateful for the opportunity to impact the educational process of all students at Seguin.”

“Principals serve and are advocates for the students, parents and the whole school community they serve,” she said in a press release. “It is an honor and a privilege to lead a fantastic, committed faculty and staff as we work to meet the academic needs of every student at Seguin Elementary.”

Judging by the reaction of the many Seguin staff on hand at Thursday’s meeting, which was an audible cheer and standing ovation, Adams is well-liked and respected by her peers. Weatherford ISD Superintendent Dr. Jeffrey Hanks said that lets everyone know she is the right choice.

“We’re very excited about Frances Adams,” he said. “She’s very fair and you can tell, the staff is real excited as well.”

In other business, the board approved a new alternative teacher appraisal plan after it had been piloted on five campuses for that past three years. This was an option for the district, which can now use this plan in lieu of a state appraisal system. Outgoing Human Resources Director Richard Crosby, who retires at the end of the month after 43 years of working, said the feedback has been positive and that he believes it’s a more meaningful gauge of teacher’s performance.

“This has a value and a purpose, as opposed to what’s been done in the past,” he explained.

After it was approved, Paschall said he was “excited” because 21 teachers and seven principals were involved with evaluating the system and that it “adds credibility” to it. He then wished Crosby well in retirement.